Lifting-jack.



H. AUSTIN.

LIFTING JACK. APPLICATION FILED mo. 5; 1910.

Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

A orzzgy' COLUMBIA PIANOOIAPH C0 WASHINGTON. n. C.

HERBERT AUSTIN, OF BROMSGROVE, ENGLAND.

LIFTING-JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 5, 1910.

Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

Serial No. 595,566.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT AUSTIN, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, and resident of Bromsgrove, England, engineer, have inventedcertain new and useful Inn-- proveinents in Lifting-Jacks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to the type of lifting jack in which the liftingbar may be raised directly by hand, when the jack is unloaded, to savethe time which would be required to lift such bar through the medium ofthe gear in bringing it up to a load to be lifted, and may then beraised through the medium of the gear, and in which the lifting bar may,when the jack is unloaded, be allowed to drop and thereby avoid thenecessity of winding it down by hand; and the invention has for itsobject improved means by which the direct lifting and the dropping ofthe bar are provided for.

Broadly describing the invention, the pinion which directly gears withthe rack of the lifting bar, and the mechanism by which it is operatedby hand in raising and lowering a weight, are carried in such mannerthat the pinion may be readily moved out of gear with the rack withoutdisturbing the normal relation of such pinion to such mechanism.

Describing an application of the invention in general terms, the pinionwhich directly gears with the rack of the lifting bar is adapted to bemoved, at will, out of gear with the rack, and such pinion and awormwheel which is rigid therewith, are maintained in such manner inrelation to a worm which gears with the worm-wheel and is re tated bythe handle, that the pinion may be moved out of gear with the rackwithout altering the relative positions of the wormwheel and worm,whereby the worm is always fully in gear with the worm-wheel.

In carrying out the application of the invention described in generalterms in the last preceding paragraph, a frame or housing which carriesthe pinion and wormwheel and the worm, is pivoted to the main pillar orstandard of the jack, the pivot axis being in such position in relationto the common axis of the pinion and wormwheel that, if the frame istilted in one direction, it moves the pinion out of gear with the rack,or if the lifting bar is raised di rectly by hand, without the framebeing first tilted to move the pinion out of gear with the rack, theframe tilts under the action of the rack against the pinion and allowsthe pinion to be thus moved out of gear with the rack.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood, I will nowdescribe a practical application of the same, and also a modificationthereof, by reference to the drawings herewith, of which Figure 1 is aside elevation of a lifting jack constructed according to the invention.Fig. 2 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1, with the gearing omitted bymeans of which the lifting, bar is operated in raising and lowering aweight. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken in the inclined planeindicated by line w m of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken in theplane indicated by line g y of Fig. 1, as seen looking in the directionof the arrow m and Fig. 5 is a view, corresponding to Fig. 3, showing amodification of the invention. 7

Referring first to the invention as illus trated by Figs. 1 to Ainclusive, A is the standard or pillar, B the lifting bar having theusual rack teeth I) along one edge, C the pinion which gears with therack teeth Z), D the worm-wheel which is carried by the spindle E of thepinion C, F the worm which gears with the worm-wheel D, and E thespindle which carries the worm and which is turned by a suitable handle,all these features corresponding substantially to those ordinarilyemployed with this type of jack. In lieu, however, of the spindle Ebeing carried by fixed bearings of the standard A as in the ordinaryack, it is carried in bearings which are formed in the inner ends ofarms G G of which the outer ends are pivoted to a lug A which is rigidwith the standard A, by means of a pin a, the arms being at oppositesides, respectively, of the lug, and the arm G carries also the bearingsof the spindle E Normally, the inner ends of the arms G G rest upon asupport which is rigid with the standard A, and thus resist the downwardforce of the pinion G when the same is supporting a weight which iscarried by the bar B; but clearance is provided which allows the arms GG to be turned up sufliciently about the pivot axis of the pin a toclear the pinion from the teeth 6 of the bar B. The arms G G are turnedup, to clear the pinion from the teeth Z), by lifting up the spindle Eat the end thereof where it is operated by the handle. The bar B willthen drop unless it Was already in its lowest position, or may be raiseddirectly by hand to any desired height, after which, in either case, thepinion C will become reengaged therewith if the spindle E is allowed tofall or lower into its normal position, and then the jack can beoperated through the medium of the gear in the usual manner.Conveniently, the arms G and G are each formed with a sidewise bosswhich projects into a slotted opening A of the standard A, the lower end(1, of each slot being formed semi-circular and allowing thecorresponding boss 9 to fit down therein, and the portion of each slotwhich is upward of the lower end being son'iewhat enlarged in width, asshown, and terminating in a semi-circular upper end; and it is preferredthat the upper ends of the slots shall be continuous with one anotheracross the front of the standard thus, together with a portion a of thestandard A which inclines down from the boss A into the front of thestandard, boxing in the pinion C which is in position between the twoarms G G. The worm-wheel D and the worm F are inclosed within a box Hdivided into halves of which the inner half is formed integral with thearm G and of which the outer half is removable, and the bear ings forthe spindle E are formed, each of them, half within the portion of thebox H which is integral with the arm G and half within the outer orremovable half of the box. It is preferred to rivet the arms G and Grigidly to the pin a, so that they may be rigid with one another.

The modified form of the invention shown by F differs from the formthereof shown by the other views, simply in that the arm G is omittedand in lieu thereof the end of the spindle which has previously beenshown as carried in the arm G rests directly, when down, in the bottomof the cor responding slot A the bottom of this slot being adapted toallow such end of the spindle to fit down therein. The spindle E isthus, when lifted, journaled entirely in the arm G.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a lifting jack, a standard or column, a tfiOblletl lifting bar, atoothed pinion adapted to gear with the teeth of said bar, mechanismrevoluble about a different axis to that of said pinion for operatingsaid pinion from a suitable handle, a frame carrying said pinion andsaid mechanism and itself mo v'ably mounted in relation. to the standardor column and adapted to be moved in a direction to move said pinion outof gear with said teeth of the lifting bar, for the purpose set forth.

:2. In a lifting ack, a standard or column, a toothed lifting bar, atoothed pinion adapted to gear with the teeth of said bar, mechanismrevoluble about a different axis to that of said pinion for operatingsaid pinion fro-m a suitable handle, a frame carrying said pinion. andsaid mechanism and itself pivoted to the standard or column and adaptedto be turned in a direction to move said pinion out of gear with saidteeth of the lifting bar, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a lifting jack, a standard or column, a toothed lifting bar, apinion adapted to gear with the teeth of said bar, a worm wheel mountedrigidly in relation to said pinion and having a common axis there with,a worm gearing with said worm wheel, a frame carrying said pinion, worm,wheel, and worm, and itself movably mounted in relation to the standardor column and adapted to be moved in a direction to move said pinion outof gear with said teeth of the lifting bar, for the purpose. set forth.

4. In a lifting ack, a standard or column, a toothed lifting bar, apinion adapted to gear with the teeth of said bar, a worm wheel mountedrigidly in relation to said pinion and having a common axis therewith,a. worm gearing with said worm wheel, a frame carrying said pinion, wormwheel, and worm, and itself pivoted to the standard or column andadapted to be turned in a direction to move said pinion out of gear withsaid teeth of the lifting bar, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a lifting jack, a standard, a toothed lifting bar guided formovement along the standard, and means for moving said bar endwiseincluding a frame supported upon the standard and movable toward andfrom the lifting bar, a pinion rotatable on the frame and engageablewith the toothed lifting bar to move the same, and gearing operable torotate the pinion, said lifting bar when moved endwise in one directionbeing operable to move said frame and disengage the pinion thereon fromthe toothed lifting bar.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 21st day ofNovember 1.910, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERBERT AUSTIN. lVitnesses lViLLIAM R. I-IANooX, REGINALD MALLARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

